Innes

I got a good flat yesterday, about a 1mm long slit in the tube. Changed to a new tube and kept riding.

got home and tried to put a Slime Skab patch on the punctured tube. The instructions don't say to put it on dead flat, or with a little pressure, so I basically blew in air with my mouth just so the tube had a non-wrinkled surface to place the patch, and stuck it on.

Now, after the glue dried, I tried to put a little air in, and the patch seems to sort of, distort and slide on the tube, you can see where the rubber expanded and some of the glue is now smeared around the edges of the patch (since it doesn't appear that the patch is expanding).


When I let some air out of the tube, the rubber shrunk down and the patch got sort of wrinkly, letting air out. What am I doing wrong here? Not really feeling too great about these patches.

idcruiserman

Apply them to the trash can and get old school vulcanizing patches.

raria

Is this the generally agreed upon consensus?

I bought some because I often find the glue tube goes dry after I first use it (I live in a very warm area) so I was essentially using a tube of glue for each vulcanizing patch.

exmechanic89

The numerous threads I've read about those patches have said that they work poorly at best, which has kept me from ever trying them. I use a normal patch kit and make sure the tube of glue is closed very tightly when I'm done using it. Works most of the time.

redlude97

save all the tubes and do them at once, I usually wait until I have 6. Or just use the tube, you can buy replacement tubes for like $1 at some LBSs

noisebeam

I too live where it is hot so I have one small unopened vulcanizer tube in my saddle bag and one larger opened one at home. If kept at home and sealed tightly it can last a long time.
The only time a vulcanized patch (that is what I am calling them now) doesn't work if one doesn't wait long enough for it to dry before applying patch. i was surprized to see the Rema instructions say to wait 5min to dry. I usually one wait ~2min.

GuitarBob

I agree with it. I've tried a couple of brands of glueless patches and they didn't hold. At MTB pressure they might be fine, but at anything approaching road-bike pressures, no go, at least in my experience.

cycledogg

[QUOTE=Innes;9419401]I got a good flat yesterday, about a 1mm long slit in the tube. Changed to a new tube and kept riding.

got home and tried to put a Slime Skab patch on the punctured tube. The instructions don't say to put it on dead flat, or with a little pressure, so I basically blew in air with my mouth just so the tube had a non-wrinkled surface to place the patch, and stuck it on.

Now, after the glue dried, I tried to put a little air in, and the patch seems to sort of, distort and slide on the tube, you can see where the rubber expanded and some of the glue is now smeared around the edges of the patch (since it doesn't appear that the patch is expanding).



Is this what you are using?

Wileyrat

The best stick on patches I've used are Park Patches. I've had poor experiences with Slime Scabs.

Both types are why I carry a spare tube now, although I still carry Park patches just in case.

datlas 

I think general consensus is stick-on patches are best to get you home but not designed to be a permanent fix. For permanent fix use vulcanizing fluid based patches, which is best done at home.

FWIW I carry one spare tube plus a few Park Tool patches. If one flat just use spare tube. Stick-on patches are for back-up only. Beats the call of shame and only a few grams.

Oh, and back to the original question I suspect it does not matter much. It probably makes sense to have a little air in the tube to give it some "body" but if it's flat it's not going to hold air anyway, and if the patch is not adhering well the air will find an easy track to the outside world anyway.

seedsbelize 

Do yourself a favor and trash them. In my experience they begin to loosen about the time the tire is remounted and ready to pump.

noisebeam

Vulcanized patches work great on the road. (if the hole can be found)

redlude97

Same. I generally try to find the location of the hole in the first tube to make sure I address that spot before installing the new tube and so I know where to patch if I need a second tube.